If you enjoyed season 11's opener 'Twentica' – and we certainly did – there's a very good chance you'll love Red Dwarf season 12's first episode, too.

That's partly because 11 and 12 were filmed at pretty much exactly the same time (the boys from the Dwarf shot an epic 12 episodes back to back), and partly because this season perhaps more than any other has its foot more firmly rooted in the past than a time-travelling caveman.

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'Cured' is so familiar it almost feels like a remix. It's got elements of two episodes from series four – 'Meltdown' (including the return of Adolf Hitler, who we'll get to in a second) and especially 'Justice', thanks to a premise that sees the gang stumbling across a space station that's found a cure for evil and is resurrecting some of history's most notorious villains to test it on.

'Cured' shares a key scanning scene with 'Justice' and a general tone. Like 'Meltdown' it revolves around historical figures from Earth's past.

But, unlike both, 'Cured' feels loose. Where those series four episodes felt tightly plotted, this opener plays around with its premise, giving the high concept room to breathe and have fun (enough fun that there's time for an extended sequence in which Lister plays guitar with Hitler).

Ah, Hitler. He's popped up in Dwarf before, of course (not just in 'Meltdown', but in 'Timeslides' too), but always as a villain.

Here, he's more of a loveable rogue – a cheeky chappy who's genuinely sympathetically portrayed (Amazon's Preacher did something similar in season two).

While we know the episode was written long before the return of the Nazis to the real world, there's still something slightly uncomfortable about being asked to root for Hitler, no matter how stunning the performance (and guest-star Ryan Gage really is astonishing).

But, Nazi nausea aside, this is a strong first showing for a season that gets better and better as it goes along (we've seen all of it, and it really is brilliant).

If the cast didn't look their actual ages (aside from the Kryten, obviously) you'd swear this was a lost '90s episode.

It opens with Lister teaching Cat how to play poker, the sort of low-key scene that makes the audience feel like the crew have never been away, before launching into the main plot, which cleverly comes full circle by the episode's end. It might be a bit flabby in the middle but it's carried by the cast's chemistry – the main constant of every era of Dwarf.

The worst seasons of the show either split up the main four, or gave them too many co-stars – fans can rest assured that 12, like 11 before it, has gone back to basics on that front, with each actor given their chance to shine throughout.

The real star of 'Cured' is Cat, who has the episode's main arc and the biggest plot revelations. Danny John-Jules, perhaps a previously underrated crew-member in terms of how many episodes have revolved around him, has always worked wonders with a character who essentially never changes, but is also never boring – and given the chance to do more, he steals every scene he's in.

So, the more things change, the more they stay the same. 'Cured' is comfort telly at its finest. It's the characters you know, behaving in exactly the way you'd expect.

As a result, watching these new episodes of Red Dwarf is a bit like ordering a takeaway curry. You know exactly what you want from it and it delivers. It might not be good for you, but damn, it's enjoyable.